A wristwatch-like device that monitors pulse, breathing and blood oxygen levels of the user allows physicians to provide care remotely both in hospital and nontraditional settings, and may help in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The use of a vaginal cleansing intervention prior to Caesarean delivery reduced the incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs), according to a study presented at ACOG 2020. However, the addition of intravenous (IV) azithromycin prophylaxis had no added impact on SSI rates.

Persons suffering from asthma should pay particular attention to SARS-CoV-2 precautionary measures such as social distancing, regular handwashing, and wearing of masks on top of keeping their asthma in control. This is because data collected so far paints a bleaker picture for asthmatics than the normal population should they catch COVID-19.

A comprehensive review of neurological disorders reported during the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic demonstrates that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affects the central nervous system (CNS), the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and muscles, leading the Environmental Neurology Specialty Group of the World Federation of Neurology to propose implementation of international neurological registries.

“The viral RNA excretion pattern in respiratory specimens during the process of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been analysed in limited studies… Higher viral loads were detected soon after symptom onset, while symptomatic and asymptomatic patients had similar viral load. It was suggested that the viral nucleic acid shedding pattern of patients with COVID-19 resembles that of patients with influenza and appears different from that seen in patients infected with SARS-CoV-1,” the investigators noted. [N Engl J Med 2020;382:1177-1179; J Infect Dis 2015;212:1420-1428; Lancet 2003;361:1767-1772]

In the current analysis, the investigators identified risk factors influencing the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding
in a cohort of 113 symptomatic patients (median age, 52 years; 58.4 percent male) from two hospitals outside Wuhan, China. The median duration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection, as measured from onset of illness, was 17 days (interquartile range [IQR], 13–22 days).

“Male patients usually had more severe symptoms at admission and longer viral RNA shedding than female patients with COVID-19. This observation may indicate that males are more severely affected ... by the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Studies from the SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemic already indicated that there may be sex-related differences in disease outcomes,” they pointed out. [Ann Acad Med Singapore 2006;35:326-331;
Int J Gen Med 2014;7:417-423]

“Women as a population are thought to be more immune-privileged than males, as they exhibit lower infection and mortality rates with infectious diseases and display higher responses to various types of vaccination than men. The specific mechanism may be related to sex hormones, which could modulate immunocompetence,” they added. [Aging Cell 2015;14:309-321;
Hum Reprod Update 2005;11:411-423]

The sex-related difference might be also be related to the expression of human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which functions as a cell entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2, according to the investigators. [Nature 2020;579:270-273]

Additional research is needed to get a clearer picture of sex-related dimorphism of COVID-19 and virological dynamics during the process of illness, which should aid in the clinical management of infected patients, they said.

A wristwatch-like device that monitors pulse, breathing and blood oxygen levels of the user allows physicians to provide care remotely both in hospital and nontraditional settings, and may help in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The use of a vaginal cleansing intervention prior to Caesarean delivery reduced the incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs), according to a study presented at ACOG 2020. However, the addition of intravenous (IV) azithromycin prophylaxis had no added impact on SSI rates.

Persons suffering from asthma should pay particular attention to SARS-CoV-2 precautionary measures such as social distancing, regular handwashing, and wearing of masks on top of keeping their asthma in control. This is because data collected so far paints a bleaker picture for asthmatics than the normal population should they catch COVID-19.

A comprehensive review of neurological disorders reported during the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic demonstrates that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affects the central nervous system (CNS), the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and muscles, leading the Environmental Neurology Specialty Group of the World Federation of Neurology to propose implementation of international neurological registries.